Article 10 ECHR and inciting religious hatred: Zemmour

In Zemmour v France [2022] ECHR 1130 [in French], the applicant, Éric Zemmour, had been convicted of inciting discrimination and religious hatred against the French Muslim community, on the basis of statements made on a television show in 2016. He alleged a violation of his right to freedom of expression, contrary to Article 10 ECHR.

Background

Éric Zemmour is a well-known French political journalist. On 16 September 2016, he appeared as a guest on the television chat show C à vous to plug his book, Un quinquennat pour rien – “A five-year term for nothing”, the introduction to which was headed “La France au défi de l’Islam” – “France and the challenge of Islam”. As a result of some of his statements, proceedings were issued against him in the Paris tribunal correctionnel under s.24(7) of the Freedom of the Press Act of 29 July 1881, which made it an offence to incite discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or group on grounds of origin or of membership or non-membership of a particular ethnicity, nation, race or religion [5].

The case against Mr Zemmour concerned five statements in particular: Continue reading